


Swapped

by minimalistdreamer



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Help out our boy Chat, Scarlet Lady AU (Miraculous Ladybug), hes suffering, switching realities
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:06:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27593861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minimalistdreamer/pseuds/minimalistdreamer
Summary: When Chat Noir is hit by a beam from an akuma, he is transported to another reality where Ladybug isn’t...Ladybug. Instead, he’s partnered up with the infuriating Scarlet Lady in his quest to find his way home.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Chloe Bourgeois | Scarlet Lady, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 5
Kudos: 51





	1. i switch realities and my new partner is a narcissist

“Chat, on your left!” Ladybug’s voice echoed on the other side of the street. He ducked to his right, a blue beam missing him by a hair. 

“Thanks, m’lady!” he cried as he flipped up and over another beam. 

The akuma was standing before City Hall, her dress made up of different fabrics and shades of blue. The Shifter, she had called herself. 

Ladybug and he didn’t exactly know what her power was yet, all they knew was not to get hit by one of her beams. The civilians that she had hit before they arrived didn’t look hurt, but they ran around crying in confusion. Their best guess was memory loss. Not great for when you’re a superhero. 

Ladybug was in the middle of the street, drawing all of Shifter’s attacks as Chat propelled himself onto the rooftops. 

With Ladybug holding Shifter’s attention, Chat dropped from above. He landed right behind her, immediately grabbing her right arm and holding it tight against her back. 

Shifter screamed in anger, pausing her attack on Ladybug to try and grab Chat with her free hand. Still holding her arm against her back, Chat Noir jumped and ducked at the right moments, leaving her immobile. This worked for a minute or so as Ladybug ran towards them, trying to see where Shifter’s akuma might be hiding. 

A minute more, and they would have won. Even 20 seconds could have been enough. But that was not what they got. Instead, Shifter grabbed Chat’s shoulder with her left hand and - in a bout of akuma strength - threw him over her shoulder. He landed on his back, her pointed palm right at his head.

“Bye, bye, kitty,” Shifter grinned, her gloved hand glowing with blue light. “Enjoy your new reality.”

“Chat!” Ladybug called out, too far to stop it. But it was too late.

* * *

“Chat!” Ladybug’s voice sounded.

Chat groaned, grabbing his aching head. 

“What happened?” he moaned, using his baton to help him stand. He looked around, wondering if Ladybug had defeated the akuma. But the city still looked like it was under attack. So what happened?

“Chat!” Labybug screamed again, coming from behind him. He turned and immediately jumped back. 

The girl in front of him definitely wasn’t Ladybug. Instead of dark pigtails and almond eyes, there was a large blonde ponytail and large blue ones. Her outfit was different, the dots stopping at mid-thigh, it transforming into - were those _heels_? No, this certainly wasn’t Ladybug.

“What?” Not-Ladybug snapped, grabbing her yo-yo and opening it to reveal a mirror. Chat just stared at her as she fixed her cherry-red lipstick.

“Who are - ” he stumbled over his words, his gaze moving away from the girl and to the world around them. It looked the same as his but it obviously wasn’t because of the Not-Ladybug standing before him. “Where am I?” he asked.

“Uh, Paris,” Not-Ladybug said, looking at him like he was dumb. His anger flared and in a moment, the girl was pressed against a brick wall with his baton at her throat.

“Who are you?” he growled.

“Scarlet Lady, and who are _you_?” 

“Chat Noir,” he answered - loosening his grip slightly. 

“Obviously not,” she said with distaste dripping from every word. “My Chat Noir wouldn’t treat me like this.” 

At that, Chat stepped back, dropping his baton.

“There was an akuma..” he muttered, trying to remember exactly what happened. Whatever the akuma caused - it wasn’t memory loss. He turned away from Scarlet Lady to look out onto the city. 

There, right in front of the Eiffel Tower was a figure clad in purple. He turned his head slightly to talk to Scarlet Lady, still watching the akuma. “Do you know the akuma’s name?”

“I think it started with an S,” she replied, checking out her nails. Which is completely useless since her suit covered them up. 

“Was it Shifter?”

She stared at her nails for another moment, “No, I don’t think it was that.”

“Weren’t you paying attention?”

Scarlet Lady looked up, her brow furrowed and her nose wrinkled. “No, why would I?”

He completely turned around. “You’re the holder of the ladybug miraculous, right?” 

Scarlet Lady nodded. “Duh.”

“Then it’s your job to fight akumas!” He said, throwing up his hands in the air. 

Scarlet Lady stalked up to him, sticking a sharp claw-like nail into his chest. “Listen here, alley cat! I’m the leader, and you’re the sidekick - so you take orders from me! Got it?” 

Chat just rolled his eyes, grabbing her wrist and pulling her finger off his chest before dropping it with a sigh. “Great, I have no idea where I am and the only person who can help me is a narcissist.” 

Scarlet Lady stomped her foot, her hands curled into fists. “Then go ask Maritrash!”

Chat Noir furrowed his brow. “Do you Marinette, as in Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

Scarlet Lady stuck her nose up into the air with a huff, which gave him all the answers he needed. He grinned. Marinette was smart, and if Scarlet Lady hated her - that meant that she had still been somewhat like the one where he is from. And that’s enough. 

Chat grabbed his baton and extended it, letting it carry him to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. 

He landed on Marinette’s balcony, knocking on her trapdoor. Immediately, it opened - causing him to jump back in surprise.

“Uh, Chat Noir?” Marinette asked, poking her head out. “What are you doing here?”

“Marinette, you have to help me,” Chat said, kneeling down to her level. “I’m stuck in the wrong reality.” 


	2. this reality's marinette doesn't have me plastered across her walls? strange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is confused, Scarlet Lady is annoying, and Chat Noir is both exhausted and excited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy with all the love I got for the first chapter. I'm so excited to write this chapter and I hope you like it!

Marinette blinked before letting out a large screech, " _What_?!" 

Chat Noir immediately covered her mouth with his gloved hands, "Shush, keep it down!" Marinette's cheeks went scarlet red, which Chat found strange. She acted very differently in his reality. He dropped his hands. 

"Are you an akuma," Marinette asked, "Because that is the weirdest thing I've ever heard." 

"No, I'm not. The akuma - the one in my reality - hit me with some blue beam and I woke up to find your Ladybug yelling at me!" Chat said, grabbing at his hair. This was crazy, even for _his_ standards. 

"Oh, that sounds like Scarlet Lady," Marinette rolled her eyes. "Come on in." She disappeared from view and Chat followed. 

He landed on her bed as Marinette climbed down at and sat on her chaise. She leaned back against the pillow and crossed her arms. Chat looked around, finding the room suspiciously lacking in photos. Specifically - his photos. In his reality, Marinette's room was covered in photos from his photoshoots for inspiration, which Adrien found sweet. But now, there were only photos of her and her friends lining the walls - along with sketches of half-finished designs. Chat leaned forward and was pleasantly surprised to see that he was still featured. Good, if this reality's Chat had to deal with Scarlet Lady - he needed Marinette.

"So," Marinette started, drawing his attention away from the walls. "What's going on?" 

Chat swung his legs over the side, placing his elbows on his knees. "Okay, so there's was an akuma. She called herself Shifter."

Marinette hummed, her brow furrowing. "Did this...Shifter, did she zap anyone before you?" Chat nodded. "So it doesn't have anything to do with this reality's akuma: Swapper?" She pointed at the computer, where a live feed of the Eiffel Tower was being played. People ran around, just as confused as they were in his reality. Chat nodded. 

"That's the same akuma, except she's purple and has the name Swapper." 

"So, if you're in this reality - do you think that my reality's Chat is in yours?"

"Yeah, probably."

"And your Ladybug is a good Ladybug."

"The best."

"Maybe if he and your Ladybug beat your akuma, you'll be transported back. Better than you going up against Swapper with Scarlet Lady on your side."

Chat huffed out a laugh. "I hope so. I wonder how he's doing, fighting with a capable partner."

* * *

" _You're_ Ladybug?" Chat asked. Ladybug nodded.

"..Yes."

"Like, the holder of the ladybug miraculous, Ladybug." The dark-haired, black-spotted, heroine just nodded. They were held up behind a brick chimney, Chat waking up to see the beautiful Ladybug shaking him awake. They were now both standing, Chat's hands on Ladybug's shoulders.

"...Yes." 

Chat immediately get out a large laugh and squeezed her up into a tight hug. "Yes!" he cheered. "Finally!"

* * *

"He's probably fine," Marinette said. She stood up. "So, what's the plan."

Chat jumped down from Marinette's bed and ran his hands through his hair. "If Swapper is anything like Shifter, that means that her attention can be drawn. She gets focused on one target."

"Do you know what her akumized object could be?" Marinette asked. Chat shook his head and Marinette swore. "Do you know anything that could hint to what it is?"

"No, I don't. And even if I did, how do we know that its the same thing?"

Marinette sighed, "Yeah. You're right."

"Alright, I need to go and surveil her. Try to find out a plan." He turned to jump out the trapdoor, but was stopped by Marinette grabbing his arm. 

"Wait, is your Ladybug capable." Chat turned and Marinette stepped back. 

"Yeah, she's the best." 

"Who makes the plans between you two?" 

"Ladybug." 

"And what do you do?"

"I'm usually the muscle."

Marinette turned and grabbed her coat that was hanging off her chair. 

"What are you doing?" 

"I'm going with you. You definitely aren't used to working alone and you're going to need some backup."

Chat just looked at her. 

"What?" she asked. 

"Huh, you're much more involved in this reality. It's..cool." 

Marinette went pink in the cheeks before clearing her throat and climbing up to the trapdoor. Chat followed.

He grabbed her waist and expanded his baton, propelling them over the street and onto the rooftops. He tucked away his baton and carried Marinette bridal style until they reached a suitable spot for studying the akuma. Thankfully, Swapper didn't move, continuing to crackle along the confused throng of people. He set Marinette down next to him. 

The Swapper looked the exact same as in his reality, except for the color. Intead of the blue that he was fighting in his reality, Swapper was covered head to toe in purple. 

Scarlet Lady landed beside Chat and both him and Marinette groaned. Scarlet Lady just rolled her eyes. "Oh great, Maritrash is here." 

"Your insults are just getting better and better," Marinette remarked dryly. Chat chuckled. 

"Ha, you're such a comedian, aren't you-" Scarlet Lady almost screeched before Chat covered her mouth with his gloved hand. She dug her Chat Noir-like claws into Chat's arm, forcing him to drop his hand. 

"God, woman," he hissed, moving closer to Marinette. "This is who you have to deal with all the time?" 

Marinette nodded, "Just wait until the press show up." 

Chat turned his attention back to the Swapper. There, in the glint of the sun - there laid a gem in the center of her palms. He tapped Marinette's shoulder.

"Hey, the center of her palm. You see it?" Marinette nodded. 

"That must be what gives her the power," she said. Scarlet Lady just scoffed. 

"Yeah, it's so tacky."

Chat and Marinette just looked at each other. God, Chat really needed to get back to his own reality. 


End file.
